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Donald Fehr was issued an ultimatum and tried to turn it into a negotiation.

As a result, it’s Day 84 of the lockout, the ninth straight Saturday there’ll be no Hockey Night in Canada and, perhaps, the bleakest point the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have reached in this negotiation.

While it looked like they were on the road to a deal after meeting Tuesday, the tables turned Wednesday and the process completely went off the rails Thursday when Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, submitted an unwanted offer.

Fehr either made a tactical error, didn’t think the NHL was serious or was trying to squeeze a little more out of them when he gave deputy commissioner Bill Daly one more list of what the union wanted after the league’s final offer.

“What we were expecting was ‘Yes or No’,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Conventional wisdom suggests the two sides aren’t far apart and are fighting over $200 million of the $3.3 billion pot along with contracting rights.

No big deal? Nothing is easy with the NHL and NHLPA, so this gap is huge.

The two sides should get back to the table. That could take awhile after this latest blowup. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who tried to broker a deal with owner Ron Burkle, was back on the ice Friday morning.

He wasn’t sure what might happen but confirmed the two sides have a major trust issue, especially after the way the discussions completely fell apart.

“After spending those three days there, I think it’s pretty tough to get guys’ trust back after that,” Crosby told Pittsburgh reporters Friday. “I don’t know what the next move is from here.”

Nobody knows. You have to think at some point Daly will call union special counsel Steve Fehr. They didn’t touch base Friday. There is no doubt, the NHLPA is studying its options.

Many believe the union will step up its efforts to have Fehr file a “Disclaimer of Interest” -- the first step in decertification -- so the two sides can battle it out in the U.S. legal system and see where it heads.

At this point, that may be an ill-advised step.

It might not look like it, but the two sides are better off trying to settle this themselves. Bettman allowed other owners into talks because he wanted them to get a first-hand look at this negotiation.

Now, when he sits down with the board of governors, he can point to that experience. There are going to be at least eight owners in the room who agree with him.

Sooner or later, common sense will have to prevail, but the union has put itself in a tough spot. The NHL pulled their ‘Make Whole’ pot of $300 million off the table and the players will have a hard time getting it back.

“I just want to play hockey,” said Crosby, who will look at options overseas. “As far as whatever option is best, I’ll start thinking about it a lot more. This stuff is getting ridiculous, all these games. I’m here to play hockey.

“I’m not here to negotiate. I support the players. I witnessed how hard guys worked and how bad they want this. But to see this happen, it’s terrible. It makes everyone look bad.”

The league insists that when they do sit down again the numbers they’re offering up will change. You have to take the NHL at face value.

“I believe there is a deal to be made without question,” said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson. “I just hope that the owners and Bettman see it the same way.”

It might not be until after everybody has had time to relax, take a deep breath and reflect on what transpired last week.

The NHL season can still be saved, but it’s going to take talks going back into overtime.

NHLPA boss, Fehr, slipped up when offered ultimatum

The bleakest point of the NHL lockout arrives in New York

Donald Fehr was issued an ultimatum and tried to turn it into a negotiation.

As a result, it’s Day 84 of the lockout, the ninth straight Saturday there’ll be no Hockey Night in Canada and, perhaps, the bleakest point the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have reached in this negotiation.

While it looked like they were on the road to a deal after meeting Tuesday, the tables turned Wednesday and the process completely went off the rails Thursday when Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, submitted an unwanted offer.